TechnologyHumans are tool-users, and technology is where our science becomes reality, giving us the powerful electronic and mechanical tools that mostly make our lives easier, yet more complex, and at times frustrating.

I have been looking at netbooks, because of the low cost and portability. I would love to be able to carry it with me, in a purse. Originally, I liked the ipod touch, but it is really limiting. I know that a lot of you know a lot about computers. I would get more use out of a traditional notebook, but it is inconvenient to always carry. The ultra portales are nice, but out of the budget.

My ideals, ~ 500-600:

(and it should be able to run):

-xp, though the new vista with tv function/dvr sounds cool, but I know vista has problems

-run the full office suite ( I mainly use word and outlook, but I want to add publisher)

-run quicken/quickbooks

-firefox, at a relatively quick speed

-plenty of storage for music and photos...not a ton, maybe 1000 songs and 1000 photos, maybe download one or two movies

-cd/dvd-rw...I am not opposed to an external one

-wifi- g is fine for now, but upgraadble to n

-long battery life and doesn't run too hot

-mic and cam nice, but not necessary

I don't do intense gaming or any photoshop stuff, just light business apps and web surfing. Price, expandability, storage capacity, trouble free- those are the most important. I like the samsung nc10, but for the price I wonder if there isn't a better option with a notebook, instead. I love the portability...if we have an emergency, I would love to have a computer with me, all the time.

Thanks to everyone!

__________________
"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands now deserves the love and thanks of men and woman. Tyranny like hell is not easily conquered yet we have this consolation with us, the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value."

I don't think anyone is responding because at the price you mentioned, it is going to be almost impossible with the requirements you mentioned.

A desktop yes (without a flat panel), notebook (IMHO) no.

If someone could meet those specs at that target price they would put everyone else out of business.

As to 802.11n, I am not that excited about it. Sure, the promise is 600Mbit/sec but why spend the bucks when it all goes to an access point probably running 6-10Mbit/second on some cable modem. (DSL even slower [in homes])

I have used all of the Microsoft operating systems, Mac OS and some Linux variants.

I guess it is fun to kick Vista and pontificate to those less knowledgeable that "Vista sucks", but I don't see it.

I run Vista on a desktop and a notebook (Other notebook are running XP.)

The notebook does fine on a Centrino Duo chip with 3Gb of memory.

I think a lot of complaints come from people who tried to upgrade old systems. These systems had a lot of crap in their registry, viruses, trojans, cookies. On top of that they tried to get it on systems that probably wasn't up to the task because Microsoft was too optimistic. (Be real, there is no way you should run Aero Glass on a Pentium 4 with 512k-1Gb of memory. )

I also think that long time users of XP are frustrated with Vista because it looks different and all of the familiar things are in different places. I am not sure what you are running now but if you are moving from something less than XP then you are going to see a change anyway. It may not affect you that much.

But, if you have to have XP I think HP has a "downgrade to XP" option on some of its business notebooks. But, you are going to get them for the price you mentioned and do everything you want.

You are going to have to choose "Configurable" and deselect a lot of options to get it to that $549 price.

I am sure Dell and Lenovo have similar models.

I don't think anyone makes a consumer grade notebook with XP anymore.

You can get some cheaper consumer notebooks but they aren't as sturdy, or last as long a business class notebook in my opinion. Most consumer machines that are moved last the average life of a PC (2-3 years).

Thanks, Pote. I was hoping that people were just busy this week! I was mainly referring to the new netbooks and debating if I should get one of those ( in that price range) or upgrade up to a notebook. Money is a big issue, but I do need to do work on it, and if I take a different job, I would really like be able to always have it on me. This is what I was thinking about, but if they really suck, then I will try to hold out to buy a full size notebook ( i do try to research some of this stuff, but a lot of it is greek to me, and sometimes the reviews don't mean much, anyway!!):

__________________
"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands now deserves the love and thanks of men and woman. Tyranny like hell is not easily conquered yet we have this consolation with us, the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value."

just keep in mind a mhz for one platform doesn't equal a mhz for another.

Intel Atom cpus are not on the same as what you're used to for desktops, or even other laptops.

A 1.6ghz Atom cpu (found in netbooks) is slower than a 900mhz celeron M. So a rough rule of thumb is take an atom cpu and cut the speed by half to get an idea of how fast it runs.

the netbook platform is ruled by low cost, not by performance. If I were in the market, I'd look at something like the Acer. Though personally if performance is in any way a factor, I'd purchase a regular laptop. You can get them in 12-14" sizes with core2duo cpus for not much more than a netbook.

I went back to desktop from laptop. Desktop puters are easier to customize..my DBF slapped more RAM in my new puter, put a good video card in it, then I went and bought a 500 gig harddrive which he installed.

I have a laptop, used it for years...I like this better. I have a 19" flat panel monitor that was $150 or something...cheap.